Straffan, Ireland – Tiger Woods calls the results of his Ryder Cup partnerships “twofers” – because they carry double the weight regardless of the result.

Leading off the 2004 matches at Oakland Hills, that meant disaster for the United States team; Woods and Phil Mickelson were thrashed by Colin Montgomerie and Padraig Harrington in a decision that buoyed the emotions of the European squad and led to an 18 1/2-9 1/2 point rout.

This morning, Woods, who will be paired with Jim Furyk, is hoping to give his side a lift at the K Club. The duo will lead off for the Americans, again versus Montgomerie and Harrington. In the other opening four-ball/best score matches, Stewart Cink and J.J. Henry will meet Europeans Paul Casey and Robert Karlsson, and David Toms and Brett Wetterich will go against Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia. In the final morning match, Mickelson and Chris DiMarco will take on Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood.

The pairings for the afternoon foursome/alternate shot matches will be determined before the end of morning play.

Both captains, American Tom Lehman and Europe’s Ian Woosnam, elicited a bit of surprise with their decisions. The presence of Ryder Cup rookies Henry and Wetterich meant veterans Chad Campbell and Scott Verplank would be sitting. Conversely, Woosnam benched Luke Donald and David Howell, who are ninth and 13th respectively in the world golf rankings.

“It’s very difficult,” Woosnam said. “I’ve got nine of the top 25 players in the world. Everybody is playing well, but someone is going to be dropped.”

For both captains, the deciding factor wasn’t form as much as weather. With the rain that’s pelted the grounds all week expected to continue today, the course will be playing longer than its listed 7,335 yards. To that end, Woosnam moved away from the short-hitting Donald (140th in driving distance on the PGA Tour) and Howell. Similarly for the Americans, Wetterich averages more than 308 yards off the tee, fourth on tour.

“If the wind continues blowing the way it has been, length is a really big deal,” Lehman said. “Brett is playing extremely well. He hits it a long way, and he’s very strong.”

Both captains also put great stock in their closing pairings. While Clarke and Westwood were the last two players selected to the European team, they were undefeated in two matches together in 2004. However, in Mickelson-DiMarco, Lehman has a tandem that went 3-0-1 in last year’s Presidents Cup triumph over the International team.

“Some guys like to go first, some guys like to go last,” Lehman said. “I think Mickelson and DiMarco going out last is a good place for them because I think they like that role.”

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